Israel's plans to build homes for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem are "unacceptable," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a phone conversation with the Arab League secretary general.
Israel announced on Tuesday it would build 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem, shortly after the Palestinian authorities agreed to hold U.S.-mediated indirect peace talks with Israel after a 14-month break.
"The minister... said Israel's plans to continue the construction activities were unacceptable and could hamper the reconciliation process," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa told Lavrov that the plans render useless all Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, including the mediated talks.
The Arab League threatened to review its support for Israeli-Palestinian indirect peace talks shortly after the Israeli government had made the announcement on the new housing project.
Settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, both occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, has been the main obstacle to reviving peace talks, stalled since an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip in December 2008.
Under the internationally agreed roadmap for Middle East peace, Israel is obliged to freeze all settlement construction activity, and remove unauthorized outposts built since 2001 from the Palestinian territories.
The announcement of new construction plans drew cutting criticism from many other countries and international bodies, including the U.S., the United Nations, the European Union and Russia, who comprise the Quartet of international mediators in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The Quartet will convene in Moscow on March 19.
On Wednesday the EU foreign affairs chief, Catherine Ashton, called on the Israeli authorities to "fulfill all their commitments and obligations vis-a-vis the peace process and to refrain from unilateral decisions and actions that may jeopardize the final status negotiations."
The new construction plan, announced during U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel, was condemned by the U.S. top official as a "step that undermines the trust."
The United Nations said it was holding urgent consultations with envoys of Israel and the PNA on the issue following the announcement from the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that the construction project would make it difficult for him to return to the negotiation table.
Syria's National Progressive Front, led by the ruling Baath (Socialist Arab Rebirth) party, said in a statement late on Thursday Israel's move was aimed at disrupting the Middle East peace initiative.
The Syrian party coalition called on Arab states to "unite their efforts and counter Israel's aggressive and expansionist policy in the region."
MOSCOW, March 12 (RIA Novosti)
